This story contains spoilers!

Showrunner Steve Molaro, stars Jim Parsons, Mayim Bialik, Kunal Nayyar and Kate Micucci talk with THR about what’s ahead in the final episode of season six.

CBS’ The Big Bang Theory took two small steps for man and not one but two giant leaps for Sheldon and Raj during Thursday’s penultimate episode of its record-breaking sixth season.

During “The Love Spell Potential,” Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) were effectively forced to answer the biggest question facing them as a couple: Will they or won’t they? The answer, revealed during a clever game of Dungeons & Dragons, is … maybe, when the neurotic Sheldon reveals to his girlfriend of three years that he hasn’t ruled out turning their relationship intimate.

“They proceed to role play what is essentially their first sexual experience but it is completely asexual at the same time; I love it,” show runner Steve Molaro tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s funny, weird, nerdy and touching. It’s a huge step forward and at the same time, it isn’t. I don’t know where they go from here but I know they’re moving forward.”

Meanwhile, the lovelorn Raj (Kunal Nayyar) bailed on the D&D game in favor of another date with the equally damaged Lucy (Kate Micucci) who, after attempting to bail when he pushes her forward faster than she’d like, winds up planting a smooch on her boozed up sweetheart.

“He’s found, as he would say, someone who has even more issues than he does and he thinks that’s very attractive in a woman,” Molaro says. “He’s falling for her. They had this sweet, slow-moving, broken relationship and it’s very nice to see them move forward in it. That kiss was weird, sweet and touching and if you can get all those into one moment, it’s pretty great.”

THR hit the Burbank set of The Big Bang Theory to get the scoop on what the latest developments mean for both Raj and Lucy as well as Sheldon and Amy.

Sheldon and Amy“The writers have managed, with all the characters, to have some severe levels of advancement in character growth with very miniscule movements and this is another example of that,” Parsons says of the sexy scene where his D&D character gets down and dirty with Amy’s gaming character. “What’s changed? In some ways, everything you know about Sheldon you begin to look at differently if he’s actually willing to consider sometime in the near future having a physical relationship with Amy. He’s willing to step over a line that he wouldn’t cross before and engage in this imaginary level of it. He’s decided that this person is important enough to him to try to make a change.”

Bialik, meanwhile, says the episode felt like Amy and Sheldon’s own season finale. “We consummate aspects of our relationship through the language of Dungeons & Dragons and it’s a very intimate scene — like the spanking episode — that felt like a very personal thing in our characters’ relationship being played out publicly,” she notes. “That’s as far as Sheldon can go and it’s very sweet. There are ways that every couple manages the challenges they have and Amy and Sheldon are definitely working it out.” As for whether it will make Amy a big D&D fan going forward, Bialik is fairly confident she’ll be eager to play the RPG again.

Raj and Lucy“When the episode starts and things begin to fall apart, I never thought it was going to end with a kiss through a chain-link fence,” Nayyar says of Raj’s lady lovin’ that comes after he pushed Lucy a bit too hard to take greater strides speak up for herself and send her food back. “There was something very beautiful about that scene — she’s a bird in a cage, almost as in life, and is trapped in this metal cage and Raj has to help her out. Through complete frustrating with trying to help her, they find a vulnerable moment together and kiss. I had chain rust under my nose but it was wonderful.” As for what comes next, Nayyar says Raj is going to want to define their relationship and introduce Lucy to his coupled-up friends — both circumstances that could send Lucy running for the nearest bathroom window. “They haven’t talked about boyfriend-girlfriend yet but a part of him wants to lock it down,” Nayyar says, noting he’s enjoying playing a new side of Raj. “He has really found someone and he really believes that this is his chance for love and he wants to introduce her to his friends, which is getting her in a situation where she’s not comfortable and thus helping her evolve more as a person.”

For her part, Micucci says Lucy’s social anxiety won’t fade away following her kiss with Raj. “If anything, they’ve gotten worse because she’s trying to figure out dealing with a guy,” she says, noting she identifies with her character. “Raj’s understanding of Lucy and her really wanting to make this work with him keeps them going and brings them closer.”

As for what comes next week when TV’s No. 1 scripted comedy wraps its sixth season, Molaro notes the series will feature another game-changing moment as it has so frequently this season with Penny’s profession of love to Leonard, Raj’s kiss and Sheldon and Amy’s intimacy discussion. “There will be a watershed moment at the end for at least one of the characters; there will be a major breakthrough,” he says.

What did you think of Sheldon and Amy — and Raj and Lucy’s — big moments? Do you think there’s a future for both couples? Hit the comments with your thoughts. The Big Bang Theory season finale airs Thursday at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Romance for Raj, Penny’s last name, Melissa Rauch’s killer impersonation of Mrs. Wolowitz and more fun moments from the CBS comedy’s Friday session.

During Friday’s Comic-Con panel — its first in the massive Hall H — NASA astronaut Richard Searfoss presented co-star Simon Helberg with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to journey to space aboard the Lynx Experience.

After Helberg, a new father, realized that Searfoss was serious he wound up passing — joking that “altitudes give me a lot of gas” and that he’s a picky eater. Ultimately, all the fans of age received envelopes with the chance at winning the flight, with one lucky woman waking away with the golden ticket to space.

With the writers only recently returning to work, a highlight panel from Season 5 was shown and the cast had a ball taking questions from fans.

Here are 11 other fun tidbits from Friday’s panel.

1. Favorite moments: Highlights for the cast and creators included Sheldon holding Amy’s hand, withJim Parsons noting that he enjoys the “exploration of the whole Amy and Sheldon relationship, it’s very fun to see where that’s going — as slowly as that may be,” with co-star Mayim Bialik kissing the screen on which her on-screen partner appeared on via satellite.

2. Dreams do come true: Exec producer Bill Prady, noted his highlight last year was being told that Star Trek icon (and his dream guest star) Leonard Nimoy was on the phone calling about a role on the show’s fifth season, with fellow EP Steve Molaro noting that he jumped up onto the stage to meet the star. Molaro, meanwhile, said his best moment came when he learned that he could shake guest star Stephen Hawking‘s hand — “and getting to know that they actually let you do that,” he added.

3. Howard’s pants: Other quips from the panel included Simon Helberg‘s gem on his wardrobe: “I help with the stuffing,” he said of his tight pants. “It’s a lot of sucking in and hanging,” he laughed.

4. Kaley Cuocoreally does understand the show’s all-around geekery — and science: “Why are you guys looking at me?! We went through this last year!”she laughed when the entire cast and creators looked in her direction after a fan asked if everyone understood the technical jargon on the show. The actress, who took heat last year at the Con from loyal fans for her seeming lack of geek cred, defended her ability to fashion Star Trek‘s “live long and prosper” hand gesture and received support from Prady, who noted she has difficulty fashioning the finger separation. Cute overload.

5. As for spoilers, EP Chuck Lorre teased that after Raj’s (Kunal Nayyar) unfortunate love affair with his iPhone’s Siri, the series has a fun follow-up planned for the guy who is unable to speak to women without booze. “We have a romance planed for Raj this year — wait until you see it!” he offered.

6. Will there ever be a crossover between Lorre’s Two and a Half Men and Big Bang? Lorre said any one of the guys could easily be a tutor for Men’s Jake. “He’s quite a knucklehead,” he joked.

7. The panel, which has featured the unseen voice of Howard’s mom last year and a live performance by the Barenaked Ladies the year prior, had another hugely fun moment when the cast sang “Soft Kitty” — in the round and almost totally on key. Impressive! A close second this year? Melissa Rauch plugging Bialik’s book on parenting — in a voice impersonating Howard’s unseen mother — asking if Howard would be interested in experimenting with adult breast feeding.

8. Cuoco — whose Penny is a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory — shared that she got a ton of looks from people when she went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. “It took me a long time to realize why they were looking at me,” she said, noting that she now tends to avoid dining there.

9. “I’m just a professional and I stay focused,” Parsons deadpanned in a very Sheldon fashion when a fan asked how he didn’t break character. Bazinga!

10. Weeks! That’s how long it took the crew to put together the Lego Death Star featured on the show. “It was a few nervous breakdowns around that Death Star,” Lorre said. Added Prady: It was originally cut from the episode it was supposed to be in but the series later added it to a subsequent episode in order to keep the poor woman who was tasked with putting it together.

11. “I think she’s just like Cher, she just goes by one name,” Cuoco joked about if Penny’s last name would ever be revealed. “Worst series finale reveal: Penny Jones,” Lorre laughed.

Johnny Galecki‘s flight from Iraq, where he was on a USO tour, was delayed and he was unable to attend the panel.

Roundabout Theatre Company celebrated the opening night of Marc Camoletti’s farce Don’t Dress for Dinner at the American Airlines Theatre on Thursday, April 26. Jim Parsons was one of the guests at the performance. Marc Camoletti’s Don’t Dress for Dinner is the wildly funny sequel to the Broadway hit Boeing-Boeing. Bernard’s plans for a romantic rendezvous with his mistress are complete with a gourmet caterer and an alibi courtesy of his friend, Robert.